Containers for the packaging and shipping of fruit and the like, such as grapes, are well known in the art. In the past, such containers or boxes used for this purpose, and their covers, have been made of wood, since wooden containers have sufficient strength to withstand being stacked and to also withstand storage in a humid environment. Typically, the wooden covers have wooden cleats at the ends thereof for attaching the wooden covers to the wooden end panels of the boxes, In addition, shipping containers used in the past have also been formed from fiberboard material and corrugated paperboard material. Such fiberboard and paperboard boxes have been impregnated with varius materials to protect them. Still further, other shipping containers have been formed from slats of wooden material covered and held together with paper, as shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,478.
Although a number of different constructions have been utilized in the past to provide an inexpensive and practical container for this purpose, none of those which have been developed thus far have proved to be entirely satisfactory for the storage and shipping of fruit and the like, such as grapes, in a humid environment. For example, prior constructions employing paperboard, fiberboard, or corrugated material all have the drawback of having very little, if any moisture resistance and thus are susceptible to losing their strength and rigidity. Such drawbacks were partially overcome by containers formed on wooden slats and covered with paper. However, because the bottom panel is formed of two or more separate wooden slats which are held together by paper, such a bottom panel has a tendency to bend and/or deform when subjected to the weight of the contents of the container. Moreover, there are no wooden slats in the folding sections of such boxes, and such folding sections are formed only from the paper holding the slats together. Thus, the folding sections have no support or rigidity in such boxes. In addition, typcially such boxes do not have dimensional stability in that the wooden slats are not uniform in size. Further, the wooden slats have a tendency to split during use and also cause splinters. Also, it is difficult to print product information on such shipping containers because the wooden slats and spaces between them create an uneven printing surface. Still further, wooden boxes cannot be recycled after use, although paperboard boxes can be.
Integral box components utilizing complete paperboard constructions also have had drawbacks. For example, the folding sections were formed only from wrapping paper and had no supporting paperboard sheets. Thus, the folding sections had a tendency to crease and collapse and did not have sufficient strength and rigidity.
Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved integral box component for the packaging and shipping of fruit and other products which overcomes one or more of the aforesaid drawbacks, has greater strength, rigidity and stability than prior art constructions, is recyclable, and is moisture resistant.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an integral box component for a container which includes in one unit the bottom panel, side panels and folding panels, and which is ready to be assembled with end panels and a cover to form a complete bo, so that the integral box component of the present invention may be shipped in a flat configuration, which substantially reduces shipping and storage costs for such containers.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an intergal box component for a container having as its primary structural member or "backbone" a base sheet of paperboard material which extends through the bottom panel, folding panels and side panels, so that the folding sections have more supprot and strength which contributes to the overall rigidity of the box.
It is a still further object to provide strong folding sections which include creasing scores to facilitate proper folding and alignment of the folding sections relative to the end panels.